Loyalty Without Blood
by Silence is Silver
Summary: "You and I are not defined by chocolates and flowers, but of blood and betrayal. We are something deeper that gives way to the pleasure of our sadistic natures and our tortured souls. You cause me pain of the sweetest kind, and I wouldn't have it any other way."


**Ok this is a sequel to my other story 'Bound to You'. However, if you don't want to read that story, I will be providing a back story to this one so everyone can understand. This is not historically accurate, nor show accurate, but if you have any questions, just let me know. Read and Review if you want it to continue. I apologize for any mistakes made. I have to use Wordpad. **

900 Years Ago:

Erana walked into the hovel that she had called home for the past two years. A two story hovel made dangerously of sticks and mud that seemed as if it would collapse with the dropping of a cup or the leaning against a wall. It was dirty, though most places were in this time. She sighed as she glanced down at her dirty fingernails, and plucked straw from her vibrant red hair. There was a banging of a table to her right, and the sound of a fight commenced. They weren't uncommon in this place. Two men wanting a woman or the downing of too many drinks could easily rouse the seedy men in this seedy place into killing each other. This was her life, the life of a common whore. A woman who had barely reached nineteen, and was already used like a milk cow that had been drained dry of milk. The girl had long accepted that she would never marry, probably dying of the countless diseases these men no doubt carried. She hadn't decided if she would welcome it or not as she placed a drink in front of the man to her right. He leered at her, making her pray that he would not be one to ask for her tonight.

"Erana, get these men drinks." Her owner, Aengus, as he called himself, yelled at her. He was a large man, who sweated like it was always hot, and smelled of dust and day old food. It was unpleasant just being in his presence. She rolled her eyes but nodded. She poured them their mead, ignoring the hands on her legs and behind. This was a whore house. They were expected to tolerate it as long as the men kept the coin flowing.

"Erana, help me with the mead in the back?" Aideen yelled over the throng of laughter and voices. She looked at her friend gratefully. Aideen was coming into her 25th year, and was the oldest girl under the care of their owner.

"Thank you," Erana whispered, her irish accent shining through. Aideen smiled. She was asked for less often, as she was older, but she had been in Erana's shoes.

"He's back, my dear." Erana looked at her in confusion. Aideen nodded to the table to the far left. The man sitting there had visited this place often. He was beautiful, that much was for sure. He had a smirk present on his face at all times. Though many of the girls had wished he would ask for them, he never did. He never asked for anyone. He just sat there, his deep pockets the only reason he was allowed to stay. He came night after night, sometimes with a companion, sometimes without. Tonight was a without night. Erana had noticed him watching her. She wondered why he never approached her. She tried to keep her eyes off of him as she spoke to Aideen.

"Do you think he's going to ask for anyone tonight?"

"If he was going to ask for anyone, it would be you. He stares at you everytime he comes in here, which has been getting more and more frequent," Aideen replied, grinning lecherously.

"Then why has he not asked for me? It's simple enough, and I wouldn't have a choice in the matter anyway."

"Maybe his intentions are honorable." Erana raised an eyebrow at the older girl.

"Intentions are never honorable when it comes to us." She grabbed the mead and proceeded to walk table to table, filling up cups and praying that someone didn't ask for her. She hoped that she would go home alone today, but knew she couldn't afford it. Aengus demanded payment by the end of the night, taking it in other ways if not in coin.

Glancing to her right quickly, she checked to see if the man was still sitting there. He was. He saw her looking and raised his glass, smirking the entire time. Erana, never being one to back down, raised her chin and continued to look him in the eye. He looked surprised momuntarily, like he expected her to blush and look away. The man was no different from any other she had taken to one of the back rooms, she decided. He was only more bearable to look at.

"Erana..." Aideen looked apologetic as she walked up to the red-headed girl. She knew what was coming, "Someone asked for your company." Erana sighed.

"Who is it?" Aideen looked sad as she pointed to the man waiting impatiently by the door. Erana felt a rush of fear slide down her body and pool in her stomach. The man in question was one that had been a regular at the establishment. The girls told stories, stories of violence and slaps. She had tried to stay out of his line of sight, but she had forgotten herself. The beautiful, smirking stranger had distracted her. Erana closed her eyes and sighed. Just get it over with. She placed a perfect smile on her face and walked over to him. He grinned at her, showing missing teeth, causing gaps between the yellow decaying ones.

"Shall we take this to the back. I assume you know the fee?" He said nothing, only nodding his response. His hands snaked around her waist, cinching his nails into her hip. She held down a wince, and would no doubt have bruises tomorrow. Erana led him towards the back. They weren't luxurious rooms. They didn't have to be. Hay littered the bed made of straw. It had been used recently. He slammed the door behind them.

"What's your name, handsome?" The man leered at her.

"That don't matter," He replied. He grabbed her, and she let him. His nails dug into her legs as they scaped her thighs. His mouth licked her neck. She stayed silent, hoping it would be over quickly, "You are really beautiful." Erana didn't reply. He pulled back to look at her, "You want me, right?" She looked away and nodded. He shook her, and she looked at him in alarm.

"It don't seem like you mean it. Tell me you want me." There was a ferel look in his eye as he demanded something he knew would never be true.

"I want you." Even to her own ears, it sung out a lie. The man ran a hand through his hair.

"No, you don't. They never do." He paced in front of her, the straw on the floor scattering under his feet. Erana looked at him in confusion. Didn't he realize how this worked? Of course they didn't want him, "My own wife didn't want me. She ran off with a filthy Scot. But you want me, you will." He stopped pacing and advanced on her. He pushed her against the wall, causing dust to fly from the ceiling. His hands clawed at her dress, leaving marks.

"You're hurting me." Erana started to panic slightly.

"You like it." He pushed her against the wall harder. Erana made a split decision. She would take punishment from Aengus later. With all her might, she pushed him away. He looked at her in surprise. No woman here had ever pushed him away.

"That's enough. I think you should leave." He looked at her incredulously. She stood firm, and opened the door, motioning for him to leave. With a look of intent, he stode over and slammed the door shut.

"I'm not going anywhere." Erana breath began to quicken.

"Stay away from me." He advanced on her. Her hands came up, shielding her face from the assault. His lips made their way violently to her throat. She clawed at him. Panic began to set in . With the little room she had left, her eyes looked around the room. A knife sat on the bedside table. It was so far away. She couldn't understand why it was there, maybe a fetish of a particular customer. Thinking quickly, she rammed her knee inbetween his legs. He howled in pain, letting her go. Erana ran quickly to the table, grabbing the knife. She held it in front of her defensively.

"You stupid cow. You think that will protect you?" He ran at her, and without a second to think she stabbed at him blindly. There was a gurgling sound, and she opened her eyes. The knife protruded out of his chest, blood spreading through his shirt. He fell to his knees. Erana glared down at him, and then as if in a trance she pulled the knife out and stabbed him again. His gurgling cut off quickly and he fell limp to the floor. Her knees shook and she slid to the ground. The red-head stared at the knife in her hand, watching as the blood dripped from the metal to the floor. And then she began to scream, and she didn't stop screaming. There was a scuttle of movement and the door burst open. The men that had come to see what the commotion was about froze in shock, taking in the scene before them. Blood was everywhere, drenching the body and the girl who was holding the knife, screaming.

"What is going on here?" Aengus pushed his way through the crowd, stopping when his feet hit the blood that was running from the body that was slowly losing it's warmth, "Erana, what have you done?" She had stopped screaming and was looking down at the body in a mixture of shock and satisfaction. The men of the room gathered their wits and grabbed the girl, who said nothing as they hauled her to her feet roughly.

"She's killed him. She must be put to death." There was a yell of consent. Erana felt herself being pulled out of the room.

"No! She didn't mean it! She must have been defending herself!" Erana heard Aideen yell, trying to claw her way through the crowd. There was the sound of palm hitting flesh along with Aengus's voice, "Be quiet."

Era said nothing as she was half dragged to the house that they held the crimianls of the village. The men's grips on her arms were biting, but still she kept quiet. Her feet scraped arcross the ground roughly as she attempted to keep up the them. They opened the door to the hovel and tossed her in. She landed roughly on her shoulder. Erana winced, glaring at the men who were now leering at her.

"Don't get to comfortable. We're taking you out in the morning. You're going to be stoned until dead, just like a biblical whore." The man slammed the door shut, leaving her in darkness. The house that they had placed her in was designed by their meager brains to prevent anyone from escaping. It had no windows, and only one door that could only be opened from the outside. She put her head in her hands, sighing. Erana wasn't scared, not really. She had always expected to die young. Perhaps this wasn't how she imagined it, but it had the same result.

She layed down against the dirt floor. Her family wouldn't come to her defense, not wanting her younger sister to be tainted with the image of the whore of the family. Despite the fact that they sold her into prostitution, they would want her dead, hoping it would shed light through the shameful cloud she had cast upon them. No man would want to marry the daughter of the village drunk, and the sister of a whore. Maybe this was for the best, maybe it would give Keeva a chance to make a promising marriage. Erana just prayed that thier fates wouldn't be shared.

!

Erana didn't know what time it was when she woke up, she assumed it was nighttime still, as she hadn't been summoned to rise for her execution. She wondered how much time she had left; an hour, maybe two. She closed her eyes and pictured it. The villagers would be standing around her in a circle, all of them, even the children, carrying stones. The first would be thrown, then the second until they rained down from the sky, covering her with the absolution befitting her crime. Blood would run down her body, pooling at her feet. The dirt would be stained with her memories, her life, her blood.

For a brief moment, she thought of the stranger from the tavern. She needed something pleasant to think of to keep the building panic at bay. The man seemed to burn bright with intensity, brighter than anyone else she had ever seen. Part of her wished he had asked to spend the night with her, while part of her was glad he didn't. He remained untainted in her mind, set apart from the men who paid to pant over her body. Her musings were cut short as a pounding against the door echoed through her ears. It was time. They were coming for her. Her eyes scrunched in confusion when screams joined the banging. Why would there be screams. The screams cut off as soon as they started, followed by a gurgling sound as if someone was choking on something.

The door opened, and Erana squinted as the moonlight filtered into the room. A shadowed figure stood at the door, shadows highlighting his face, preventing Erana from seeing who he was. The hand that lay at the man's side was dripping something. He didn't move from his spot, but continued to watch her.

"Who are you? Is it time?" Erana forced her voice not to quiver. The man chuckled, and she felt angry. How dare he laugh at her misfortunes.

"No, it's not time for your stoning, darling." His voice was deep and seductive, as if he wished to caress comfort into her body with words. Her eyes narrowed.

"Then why are you here? Have you come to torment me? Is the prospect of being stoned to death not punishment enough for you?" She could tell he grinned, even with the shadows cast on his face.

"I've come to tell you that you won't be attending your execution." He walked further into the room. His face was clear now. The stranger from the tavern, the one who had watched her for weeks was standing in front of her with hands slick with a thick liquid. She was able to glance beside him now. The men she recognized as the ones who had brought her in littered the front of the prison. Some had necks that were bent at an odd angle, while others had holes in their chest the size of a fist. They all had the same look of lifelessness, as their eyes stared at her with fear and surprise.

"You killed them." The man that had burned so bright to her before, grinned. It now became evident that he burned with hell fire.

"Are you sad for their deaths? Be honest. They were going to lead you to your death, with your crime being nothing more than defending yourself. Are you sad for them really?" He crouched down, so that he was almost level with her. His eyes had no remorse, and Erana realized with a sudden chill that she didn't feel any either.

"No." His grin widened.

"Why save me? Why are you here, and why have you been watching me?" He chuckled at her questions. A girl marked by death, a girl he could easily crush with the flick of the wrist was demanding answers with no fear in her eyes.

"You have a fire in you. You are like me. Your parents, like mine, threw you carelessly to the wind of your own devices. They forced you to sell yourself to settle their own debts. Only ones such as us know how deep the betrayal of a father cuts." He stroked her cheek gently, and Erana was surprised at her body. It didn't flinch away, despite the monsterous thing the man had just done. Her cheek felt wet as the blood on his hand smeared onto her face. She found herself reveling in it, taking a brief joy in the final moments these men had suffered.

"What are you going to do to me?" He smiled at her, almost gently.

"I'm going to offer you a choice. I will give you a gift. You'll be stronger and faster. You'll stay young and beautiful forever. I will give you the strength to avenge your virtue, to avenge the things that were taken away from you."

"And the other option?" His eyes hardened and the smile turned to a frown of contempt.

"I kill you, though it will be merciful compared to what you would have suffered come dawn." She looked up at him. Surely he would want something in return for offering her such a gift.

"What would you want in return if I were to choose your gift?" He pulled her hair behind her ear, plucking straw from the tendrils and studied it briefly. The man or demon if that's what he was spoke gently with longing she doubted he showed to anyone else.

"I need a companion. Eternity is a long time to spend alone. My family, though loyal, are only loyal because I am their brother. I need someone who isn't loyal to me out of blood, but of the desire to remain by my side." He sounded lonely, so much like herself. He was offering her the world, and he asked for her devotion. She couldn't deny that he was beautiful, beautifully broken. The light in his eyes burned brighter than any she'd ever seen as if he had some of heaven and all of hell smouldering in them.

"What would I have to do?" His smiled became so bright that it spread to her own mouth. In a swift motion that she almost missed, he sliced open a vein on his wrist and held it out to her.

"Drink." She paused before taking his arm and putting it to her mouth. His blood rushed down her throat, tasting of bitterness and something all it's own. He gently pulled his wrist away, and snapped her neck.

!

Erana was aware of the burning hunger in her gut first when she woke. Her eyes snapped open to where the stranger, who's name she had yet to learn stood, leaning against the wall. Erana could hear everything; the crickets, the wind, and most importantly the blood rushing through the veins of the village inhabitants. It smelled of dirt, and sweat, and a sweet smell she couldn't identify, but one that made her nawing hunger claw at her.

"It's overwhelming at first, but it'll pass. You have to feed." He pulled her up. He smiled, looking at her in almost wonder of his creation, "But first, introductions must be made. What is your name?" Erana looked at him in confusion.

"You've given me the gift of immortal life without knowing my name?" He smirked at her.

"I wanted you to be the one to tell me. I am Niklaus."

"Erana." He repeated it after her, as if to see how it rolled off his tongue.

"I will call you Era." She thought for a moment before deciding she liked it, and nodded.

"Can I call you Klaus?"

**Ok, that's the first chapter. Let me know if you want it to continue. **


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